Clasp.



A. T. VAN ALSTYN.

CLASP.

APPLIOATIUN FILED MASI 27,1909.

Patented Oct, 18,1910.

INVENTOR WITNESSE:

l yq @Mr jaa ATTORNEY tintin ALBERT T. VAN ALSTYN, Ol? STAMFORD,CONNECTICUT.

CLASP.

T o all whom it may concern.'

Vle it known that l, ALBERT T. VAN AL- s'rrN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Stamford, county of Fairfield, State. ofConnecticut, have invented an lmprovement in Clasps, of which thefollowing is a specilication.

This invention has for its object to provide a garment clasp for useupon stockings, drawers and other supporters which shall be simple andinexpensive to produce, flat and smooth upon the under side and freefrom projections that can bruise the wearer or hurt the hand in use, onemember of which shall be provided with an elongated holding bleek toreceive a fold of stocking or other garment to be held, and the othermember shall be provided with a relatively large oiening to receive theholdingl block (D L, L

and fold of stocking and with quick-acting holding means which shallgrip the holding block and the fold of garment thereon firmly andsecurely so as to prevent danger of detachment and without danger ofinjury to the finest stockings. lilith these and other objects in view lhave devised the simple and novel clasp which l will now describe,referring to the accompanying drawing forming a part of thisspecification, in which similar' reference characters indicate likeparts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a plan view of my novel clasp in the engaging position, butwithout a fold of garment over the holding block, the oper ating' leverbeing partly broken away; Fig. 2 a section on the line 2 2 in Fig. 1,looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 3 a similar view showingthe clasp in the open position; Fig. 4 an inverted plan view of theupper member in the closed or engaging position; Fig. 5 a section on theline 5 5 in Fig. 2, looking` in the direction of the arrows: f a planview of the lower l Fig'. ii member; Fig. 7 a view corresponding withFig. 3, illustrating variations in the details of construction; and Fig.S is a plan view corresponding with Fig. 7.

The upper member comprises a frame, a holding plate 18 and an operatinglever 14. The frame is blanked out and formed from sheet metal andcomprises end pieces 15 and 1G, which are preferably strengthened bydoubling the metal upon itself and to form smooth engaging surfaces forsaid end pieces especially for end piece 16, side pieces 17 the upperand lower edges of which are Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 2'?, 1909.

Patented Get. 1S, 1910.

serial No. 498,604.

turned inward to form flanges indicated respectively by 1S and 19 (seeFig. 5 in connection with Figs. 2 and 3), and a cross piece 33 extendingbetween the side pieces which strengthens the member and retains theside pieces rigidly in position. y The holding plate doubled upon itselfgiving a smooth edge 20 for a gripping surface and forming a spring 26which is wider than the holding plate and the ends of which bear uponthe flanges 19, as will be more fully explained. The operating lever isprovided with an angle arm 21. rThis arm of the operating lever and therear end of the holding plate are hinged to each other and to a swingingplate 22 at 23; that is to say, hinge 23 connects holding plate 18, arm21 of the operating lever and swinging plate 22 to each other. The otheredge of the swinging plate is hinged to the side pieces by trunnionswhich engage holes in the side plates, turning freely therein. The arm21 of the operating lever is provided near its connection with lever 14with lugs 25 which engage and ride upon the upper flanges 18 of the sidepieces which are suitably curved to permit movement of the lever and toretain the parts against loose movement.

When the operating lever is swung to the engaging position, the springwill be forced against flanges 19 and toward the holding plate, asclearly shown in Fig. 2. The action of the spring is to retain the partsagainst any looseness of movement, and especially to hold the operatinglever firmly in place when in the engaging position by foreing lugs 25upon arin 21 upward against flange 18.

The lower member, in the form illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive,comprises a plate 27 having slots 28 and a holding blgek 29 rigidlysecured thereto. This holdingl block may be made of metal. but ispreferably made of rubber and is provided on opposite sides with grooves30, leaving a neck 31 between them. 82 denotes the web which is securedto the frame in any suitable manner as by being passed about end-piece15 and stitched, and which extends forward and carries the holdingblock, the end of the web being shown as passed through the slot inplate 27 and stitched to place.

Vrlhe form illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 differs from the form alreadydescribed in that cross piece 33 is provided with slots 34e which areengaged by lugs 35 extending from a plate 36. This plate is providedwith a slot through which the web extends and is stitched on. Theholding block 29 is shown as carried by an integral rubber strip 3Sthrough which lugs 35 pass, said lugs acting to connect strip 38 toplate 3G and to form a hinge connection between plate 3G and the frame.

The operation is as follows: Supposing the lever to be thrown backwardas in Figs. 3 and 7, a fold of the stocking or other garment to b e heldis placed over the holding block and then the frame is pressed down overthe holding block and the fold of garment which pass through the framebetween end-piece 16 and the forward end of the holding plate. The leveris then swung forward from the position shown in Figs. 3 and 7 to theposition shown in Figs. l and 2. This movement of the operating leveroscillates the swinging plate and carries hinge 23 which connects theholding plate, arm 2l of t-he operating lever and the swinging plateforward and downward and carries the holding plate forward into thecontiguous groove in the holding block, carrying the holding blockforward also and grip- -ping said block and the fold of garment thereonbetween the forward edge of the holding plate and end-piece 16 of theframe, the forward edge of the holding' plate and the end-piece lying inthe grooves in the lholding block and gripping the block and the fold ofgarment thereon firmly and preventing detachment of the garment, butwithout danger of tearing it. To release the garment it is simplynecessary to swing the operating lever from the position shown in Figs.l and 2 to the position shown in l Figs. 3 and 7, which permits theholding block with the fold of garment thereon to drop out from betweenthe holding plate and end-piece 1G.

I-Iaving thus described my invention I claim:

l. A clasp consisting of armember comprising a frame having flanges, aswinging plate hinged to the frame, a holding plate, an operating leverhaving an arm engaging the flang'es and a hinge connection between saidarm, the swinging plate and the holding plate, and a member having aholding block adapted to receive a fold of garment and to pass throughthe frame.

2. A clasp member comprising a frame having flanges, a swinging platehinged' to the frame, a holding plate, an operating lever having an armengaging the flanges and a hinge connection between said arm, theswinging plate and the holding plate.

3. A clasp member comprising a frame having end pieces, and side pieceswith upper and lower inwardly-turned flanges, a swinging plate hinged tothe side pieces, a holding plate, a spring formed integral therewithwhose ends engage the lower flanges, an operating lever having an anglearm provided with lugs engaging the upper flanges and a hinge connectionbetween said arm, the swinging' plate and the holding plate, the springacting to retain the operating lever in the engaging position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT T. VAN ALSTYN. lVit'nesses A. M. WoosTER, S. WV. ATHERTON.

